Title: Program Accountant
Location: Migori, Kenya
Start date: August 2024

Organizational Background

Founded by a group of committed Kenyans, Lwala builds the capacity of rural communities to advance their own comprehensive well-being. We support communities to design, implement, and evaluate solutions to their most pressing health challenges. Then, we build coalitions of communities, health workers, government, and universities to generate evidence of impact and infuse these insights into the formal health system in Kenya and beyond. This bottom-up change promises holistic solutions that are custom-built for the systems they are meant to reform.

Job Description

The position is responsible for processing financial transactions, maintaining financial records of the organization, providing adequate accounting information, ensuring compliance with financial policies, systems, and procedures, maintaining accounting controls, proper custody of financial records, and safeguarding the assets of the organization.

Key Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Program Accountant include but are not limited to:

Financial Management

1. Support the implementation of, and ensure adherence to financial management policies, systems, and procedures.
2. Provide technical support in the audit of projects when necessary.
3. Provide general guidance and offer technical support in financial management to other departments.
4. Ensure that the organization’s procurement policies are adhered to and are coherent with financial reporting requirements.

Processing of Financial Transactions and accounting system

1. Prepare and ensure cheques, payment of vouchers, and any supporting source/transaction documents are approved and authorized.
2. Verify all payments for accuracy and ensure amounts are within budget provisions before submission for approval.
3. Upload Mpesa payments and conduct MPESA utility account reconciliation.
4. Verify staff returns from the field for accuracy, completeness, and genuineness including receipts and any vouchers submitted by imprest holders when retiring advance/imprest.
5. Making payments to creditors through check, Mpesa, or Internet banking portal.
6. Conduct daily reconciliation on financial transactions captured in the financial records and update the accounting system.
7. Address issues and queries that arise from financial transactions without undue delay.

Budgeting

1. Work closely with the Program Managers to update monthly projections.
2. Review the requisitions raised by program teams for budget checks and compliance before they are duly approved.
3. Prepare and share monthly financial reports with the program team.
4. Attend Monthly Program Meetings to offer professional advice and technical support on Organizations Funds Management and Policy Procedures.

Banking

1. Conduct banking activities: ensure funds are deposited in, and payments made from the right/designated accounts.
2. Undertake monthly bank and MPESA reconciliations and follow up on outstanding issues.
3. Initiate MPESA payment against fully authorized requisitions or activity payments.

Accounts Payables

1. Conduct Monthly Vendor Reconciliations and address outstanding payments in the system.
2. Address concerns that are raised by vendors about their payments and outstanding balances.
3. Ensure that the vendor statement file is updated.

Reporting

1. Work closely with the Finance Manager to prepare monthly financial reports.
2. Work closely with the Finance Manager to ensure that the accounting system is cleaned before monthly reports are signed off.

Internal Control

1. Work as an integral member of the finance team to ensure That Organization's Internal Control Systems are watertight and strictly adhered to.
2. Ensures that all the authentic supporting documents are attached before payments are initiated.

Statutory Payments

1. Ensures that statutory payments like NHIF, NSSF, and PAYE are timely paid to avoid unnecessary penalties to the Organizations.

Qualifications and Experience

(The knowledge, skills and abilities may be acquired through a combination of formal schooling, self-education, prior experience, or on-the-job training)

Level of Education/Academic Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business or any other related field.

Specialized Training/Professional Qualifications

• CPA

Other Competencies/Abilities/Skills Required

• Strong analytical skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Excellent computer skills including proficiency in accounting packages such as QuickBooks, Patel etc
• Strong report writing skills
• Strong coordination skills
• Auditing skills
• High level of Integrity

Relevant Job Experience

• At least one (3) year (s) relevant experience in a similar position

Characteristics

• Visionary innovator - The individual must be able to build strategy and vision for sustainable, right-sized and high-quality digital tools that contribute to strong local community health systems.
• Commitment to impact – The individual should be passionate about Lwala’s mission and the population we serve, and relentless in pursuit of generating evidence and learning to understand our impact as we test our community-based innovations and scale with government and partners.
• Communication skills – Strong written and verbal communications skills are essential, in particular, the ability to communicate complex thoughts and ideas simply and effectively and tailor communications to the non-technical audience.
• Ability to create “structure out of nothing” – Strong ability to turn a visual reality or imagined outcome into a codified set of steps, actions and goals on paper - and keep the team on task for the most important tasks.
• Energy, motivation and stamina - The role can be demanding and, at times, subject to external pressures for timely completion. The candidate must be adaptive, creative, organized, and highly motivated.

1. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY

The job provides responsibility for financial, human and material resources. The position is responsible for all assets, financial support to the organization.

To Apply

Please apply by following the link here >> Program Accountant Vacancy

The application deadline is 19th July 2024

Lwala Community Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and does not ask for fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Successful candidates must abide by Lwala’s Antifraud & Bribery Policy and Safeguarding Policy, including protection of children and vulnerable adults.